Glitter (How I Met Your Mother)

"Glitter" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 121st episode overall. It aired on November 15, 2010.

Plot

When Lily becomes obsessed with babies, Robin becomes distant from her. Meanwhile, Barney has found a disc he calls "Robin Sparkles 3," which contains Space Teens, a variety series involving two Canadian teenagers, Robin Sparkles and Jessica Glitter, using math to solve crimes presented by Alan Thicke. When conversation turns to why the group has never met Jessica if she and Robin were such good friends, Robin abruptly reveals that she hasn't spoken to Jessica in five years and attempts to drop the subject. When Robin leaves the apartment, Ted discovers a Christmas card Jessica sent to Robin with a picture of Jessica's baby. Ted speculates that Robin dumped Jessica as a friend when Jessica got pregnant, which upsets Lily, who fears that Robin will do the same to her.

When Lily continues to talk about having a baby, Robin becomes fed up with her and the two of them break up, which upsets Marshall. Marshall takes Lily to see Jessica, who works as the organist for the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Jessica reveals that she and Robin became distant after Jessica had a baby and no longer had the time to do all the things best friends do. Jessica has considered getting back in touch with Robin, but never had the courage to try.

Lily finds Robin at The Hoser Hut and they reconcile; Robin reveals that she has been afraid that Lily will abandon her once she become pregnant like Jessica did, while Lily promises not to talk about babies so much. Jessica, who has come to the Hoser Hut as well, sings the Beaver Song from Space Teens and Robin joins her, rekindling their friendship.

Meanwhile, Robin and Jessica's estrangement prompts Ted to contact his old high school friend Punchy, who appears in New York. Punchy's male bonding with Ted irks Barney, who tells Ted that Punchy has to go. When Ted tells Punchy that he has to go back to Cleveland, Punchy said he thought Ted sounded depressed when he called and his girlfriend encouraged him to visit. Punchy tells Ted he's getting married and asks him to be his best man, an offer Ted gladly accepts.

Continuity

• The episode tackles the origins of Robin Sparkles, which were plot devices in the season 2 episode "Slap Bet" and the season 3 episode "Sandcastles in the Sand". In Slap Bet, in the beginning of the song "Let's Go To the Mall", Robin shouts out to a friend named Jessica.
• Barney attempts to slap Marshall when he thinks the new video he uncovered was porn. This is due to the slap bet he made in "Slap Bet", gambling that Robin was a porn star.
• Alan Thicke has previously appeared when Robin's teen idol past was a topic in "Sandcastles in the Sand" and "The Rough Patch". He also referenced starring in a short-lived Canadian variety show with Robin in the "The Rough Patch."
• Lily finds Robin in The Hoser Hut. Marshall introduced Robin to this place in the season 4 episode "Little Minnesota". Robin Sparkles' popularity with Canadians is also evident by one picture posted in the place.
• Robin's hatred for kids is an issue once more as highlighted in "Little Boys" and "Not a Father's Day". However, Robin being able to love kids is mentioned in the said episodes where Future Ted told his children that she was able to make peace with kids some time in the future to hang out with them and where Robin falls in love with Jeremy's baby sock, respectively.
• Ted does a poetic quip during the episode. His love for poetry is mentioned in "The Naked Man", "The Sexless Innkeeper" and "Robots Versus Wrestlers".
• Ted shows once again his detective skills, the first instance was during the season 3 episode "Dowisetrepla".
• Lily's frustration in not yet having a baby is a reference to "Subway Wars".
• The episode brings back Ted's friend, Punchy, who was first introduced in "Sandcastles in the Sand".
• Barney uses the number "83" in a statistic. It was pointed out in "Brunch" that he uses this value whenever he makes data up.
• Marshall's Joey Buttafuoco pants was first seen in a flashback in "Stuff".
• The robot in Space Teens is the same robot shown in Robin's music video "Let's Go To The Mall" in "Slap Bet" and would be shown again in Robin's music video "SandCastles In the Sand" playing hopscotch with some girls in uniforms.

Barney's blog

In his blog, Barney advises his readers on how to treat "inadequate consumption of porn".^[1]

Cultural References

• Barney quotes the sign-off phrases of multiple reality TV shows, when telling Ted that he needs to tell Punchy to leave, namely in order:

• Robin mentions two well-known children's programs, Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Marshall, referring to Space Teens, says "You can't do that on television," which Robin mistakes as a reference to the Canadian children's television program with that name.
• The show Space Teens is a reference to the children's television series, Cyberchase, which involves children solving problems using math throughout Cyberspace.
• When Ted and Barney restrain a laugh at the use of beavers on the show, Robin defends it by saying that it is the national animal of Canada.
• When Ted tries to convince Robin that Punchy should be allowed to stay at their place for a few days by mentioning he has been stuck in Cleveland and says "Lebron...", referencing the infamous July 2010 departure of LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Jessica works as the organist at Madison Square Garden and plays at the New York Rangers' games. She is shown playing several things that are clichés for hockey game organists. Marshall then plays "Chopsticks" on the organ.
• Punchy says to Ted that this is not a dream and to check his totem, a reference to the movie Inception.
• Several Hoser Hut patrons appear as Canadian national icons in the last scene of the episode. Costumes include a hockey player, a moose, a beaver, a Mountie in Red Serge, Queen Elizabeth II, and Brian Mulroney.
• Walkers potato crisps and Hula Hoops are shown as being sold at the Hoser Hut.
• The Omnibot 2000 robot appears once more as part of Robin Sparkles' performance, having appeared in "Slap Bet" and "Sandcastles in the Sand".
• While flipping through TV channels at Ted’s apartment, Punchy makes a reference to Big Chuck and Lil' John, the immensely popular duo who hosted their own movies and original late-night sketch-comedy series on WJW-TV in the Greater Cleveland area for nearly 30 years.
• Lily is shown reading a book titled "What to Expect When You're Expecting to Expect". This fictional book is a play on the title of the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting".

Critical response

Zach Oat of Television Without Pity gave the episode a B+ score, saying it added more material into Robin's origins but also upped viewer frustration to her being secretive on certain issues. He noted that Punchy's offer to Ted as best man fuels speculation that the wedding in "Big Days" is Punchy and Kelly's, and is set in Cleveland.^[2]

The A.V. Club's Donna Bowman, on the other hand, graded the episode at A-, citing "season six-style" fan service to previous episodes and further detail on the characters' friendship, but noted excessiveness on Barney's reality-show catchphrases.^[3]

Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.5 out of 10.^[4]

Chris O'Hara of TVFanatic.com gave the episode a rating of 4 out of 5.^[5]

References

External links

• "Glitter" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Glitter" at TV.com